The conversion of chemical energy into motive power has been a pursuit of mankind throughout its history. In the age of machines this art has been substantially refined by the invention of a great number of devices known as "engines". These have included the steam engine, the diesel engine and the standard component of the modern automobile, the reciprocating piston engine. Other modified versions such as the turbine engine and the jet engine have also been utilized.
One type of engine technology which has not been ignored in the art is that of the rotary engine. The most common form of this engine is known as Wankel and is found in some modern automobiles. However, numerous other attempts have been made to create rotary engines which have the advantage of having fewer moving parts and less translation of direction of motion than the standard reciprocating piston engine. Various examples of types of rotary engines which have been the subject of United States Patents are U.S. Pat. Nos. 898,985, E. Carpenter; No. 1,077,222, R. Davidson: 3,322,103 G. Dirnberger; 3,777,718 K. Pattas: 3,862,622, R. Spinnett; 3,886,912, R. Haglund: 4,136,661, C. Posson; 4,389,173, W. Kite: 4,422,419, S. Umeda: 4,453,508, T. Groger; 4,454,844, L. Kinsey; and 4,760,701, C. David.
As is amply demonstrated by the plethora of examples set forth above, the field of rotary engines has resulted in a great number of different approaches to the problems involved. However, none of the inventive approaches in this field has been entirely successful. Various types of rotary engines have suffered from a wide variety of different problems. Some, such as the Wankel engine, utilize an eccentric rotor mechanism which creates specialized gearing and wear minimization problems. Others, including the Wankel, require unusually shaped cylinders. Another common problem is that the seals between the rotor mechanism and the cylinder wall are vulnerable items which need to be replaced on a regular basis. As is evident from the wide variety of different approaches to the rotary engine concept, various attempts have been made to solve these and many other problems. However, to date, none have been wholly successful and the reciprocating piston engine remains the most popular solution for problems such as automobiles.
Since every combustion engine utilizes a compression stage in order to compress the fuel mixture prior to explosive expansion, there are many parallels between the internal combustion engine and gas compression devices. Gas compression devices have a wide variety of uses in compressing a variety of fluids. There is also a parallel between some compression devices and fluid pumps.
Just as in the internal combustion engine field, a wide variety of mechanisms have been utilized in the compression device field. One of the popular types of compressors is a rotary compressor type. Examples of rotary compressors which have been made the subject of U.S. Patents are U.S. Pat. No. 3,193,191, G. McClure: No. 3,374,943, K. Cervenka: No. 4,252,511, M. Bowdish: No. 4,362,473, S. Zeilon: and No. 4,764,095, K. Fickelscher.
The above represent various attempts to generate compressed fluids for various purposes in which the rotary mechanism within a cylinder is utilized. However, substantial room for improvement remains in the field.